■"Conoco Wins Lukoil Bid, a Window on Iraq," by Erin E. Ardvedlund and Heather Timmons, New York Times, 30 September 2004, p. C1.

■"As Westerners Move Into Russia, Its Vast Oil Wealth Keeps Growing: BP, Others Boost Production With Basic Tools of Trade; Reserve Estimates Surge," by Gregory L. White, Wall Street Journal, 30 September 2004, p. A1.

Conoco wins a big chunk of Lukoil in a bid, and that opens up both Russia and Iraq to its efforts to find more oil and better develop existing fields. Why Iraq? Lukoil has rights there from Saddam's time.

See, I told you it wasn't going to be some zero-sum game for just American oil companies in Iraq!

Moreover, alread in the past few years, Russia's proven oil reserves have grown dramatically simply because Western firms came in with better technology and exploited existing and marginal fields with enormous success rates. Experts are now guessing that revamped statistics on Russia's reserves may rocket it from number 7 in the world rankings to number 2, or above Iraq and only behind Saudi Arabia.

Take that, Hubbert's Curve!